editor's review

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Bitdefender is already a household name among the user community when it comes to effective antivirus solutions that deliver the highest ranked performance results. Although the developer prides itself with a lineup of three professional av solutions - Antivirus Plus, Internet Security and Total Security, it puts up for grabs a simpler version designed to fend off malware attacks while remaining resource-friendly.

Effective and non-intrusive av solution

Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition sits quietly in the system tray area while remaining alert at all times and notifies users only when detecting suspicious activity on the PC. It is ideal for those who prefer an av tool that deals with any problems on its own without requiring configuration.

Simple installation and real-time protection

The setup procedure is a fast and easy task that does not need special input. Bitdefender offers to run an initial scan on the computer at startup, in order to assess the current situation on malware.

The program does not only perform on-demand scans but prevents viruses and other e-threats from infiltrating into the machine using a real-time safeguard with optimized settings.

User-friendly interface and one-click control

The interface consists of a small frame that pops up from the notifications area when called. It shows the current protection status and allows users to deactivate the virus shield and auto scan modules with one click.

Quarantine and log files

Any identified threats are automatically sent to the quarantine, where users may examine full paths and open file locations in Windows Explorer, as well as decide whether to delete or keep the items.

Performance and conclusion

The application is quite effective at detecting and quarantining files. It does not interfere with the user's normal activity on the PC, runs on a light amount of CPU and RAM, finishes scan jobs rapidly and delivers very good results concerning malware detection ratio.

To sum it up, Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition offers simple and effective methods to keep the PC protected from malware at all time, considering that it is a free tool. Those looking for additional features may upgrade to the other versions.